Live Mesh Desktop

Although I’d seen recommendations of Live Mesh, I’ve avoided it because, well, I didn’t think I’d like it. In the end, a week or so ago, I did try it and I was wrong – it’s actually quite good.

Live Mesh is a simple concept – you can convert any of your folders into Live Mesh folders that are then instantly synched onto your online account (where they can be accessed), known as your desktop, or any other computer that you’ve set up. In my case I have it on my home PC and Netbook.

Now, I don’t use it for more permanent stuff, but it’s useful if I want to move a file from one to another – the other day, for instance, I needed to put my CV onto my Netbook. I simply dropped it into a Live Mesh folder on my PC and it was transferred across.

It’s simple to use¹ and free.

1. well, I say that, but it can be confusing at first when setting up a Live Mesh folder on one computer and it syncing across to others. Or maybe it was just me [↩]

Yesterday I downloaded two software releases. And was left underwhelmed.

First up was the official launch of Internet Explorer 8. Nothing much appears to have changed since the Beta versions and I continue to be left disappointed.

People are turning towards Firefox, not because it shows web pages better, but because it’s more customisable – plugins, themes, etc. Microsoft has never really got this. Yes, Windows has themes and IE has addons, but there are few available and they’re hard to develop and implement. Instead we have Web Slices and Accelerators, requiring web developers to change their code and are deeply, deeply dull.

Next up, the people behind Xandros Linux launched Presto, which is intended to be used as a fast startup alternative to Windows. I’ve tried it on both my home PC and my Netbook and, yes, it works. It installs easily and configures Windows automatically to dual boot. Unfortunately, on both PCs I had different BIOS errors during the Presto boot and, yes, it’s still in Beta but it’s only a few weeks before the final version is released. Yet it lacks the basic ability to change languages and keyboards. So I’m stuck with a US keyboard layout.

By default it books with Firefox, Pidgin and Skype and you can add (some free, some you must pay for) extra applications via their website.

The final version is going to cost about $20, but that’s as much as they’re giving away right now. Personally, I’m going to wait for the final version as, at the moment, it’s seriously lacking that “oomph” that would get me excited.

The latest version of IE8 is “release candidate 1″. But what exactly is a “release candidate”? I’ve been working as a professional IT developer for nearly 20 years and have only recently become aware of it.

A quick Google shows Microsoft using it for Windows XP Service Pack 2, but I’m struggling to find anything before then.

Wikipedia defines a Release Candidate as “a version with potential to be a final product, ready to release unless fatal bugs emerge.” This all seems a bit woolly to me, as it sounds like a final release. There are clear definitions of Alpha and Beta releases, but this doesn’t seem to fit properly. A Beta is clearly a release that you allow customers to try to get rid of any problems before a final release. So where does a Release Candidate fit into this?

Microsoft itself defines it as “at a stage in the development process where it is ready to be evaluated by users while it undergoes final testing.” Evaluted by users? Final testing? Surely that makes it a Beta.

Personally I never really became aware of RC’s (as I’ll now call it, to save all that typing) until Microsoft started using them. I’m not saying they invented the term but I certainly think they’ve made it fashionable. But, dare I suggest, they’re using it to package Betas as something different. Imagine if IE8 was released as a third or fourth Beta. It wouldn’t sound too good that it’s taken 3 or 4 releases to get rid of the bugs in their software. But name it as an RC and you can maybe get away with it.

For Vista, Microsoft even referred to early Beta releases as “Community Technology Previews” (CTPs). A ponsy name for masking what was, however you name it, a Beta release. Others called then “pre-Betas” (if they were, they were Alpha releases, which should have been internal testing). That meant that they only had to release 2 Betas, even though a number of CTPs had been released prior to this. Sounding familiar? Not surprisingly, the two Vista Betas were followed up by two Release Candidates.

Microsoft is fooling no-one. Personally, I’d like then to call them Betas, which is what they are. Somehow, though, I can’t imagine it happening.